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Thoughts About Islam & Slaughter in Nairobi

The horrifying events in Nairobi and throughout much of Africa (and yes, the Middle East) are being done in the name of Islam. This is a fundamental corruption of Islam. No, it is no more a “religion of peace” than any other religion or any other form of human society. But those who wantonly kill in the name of faith are not true to the fundamentals of their respective faiths. They forget the fundamentals of decency, mercy and compassion at the heart of all our religions.

Right now there are some terrible gangs of thugs and revolutionaries who, under cover of religion, act out their anger, greed and intolerance. From the perpetrators of the Nairobi outrage, al Shabaab (which means, the “lads”) to Boku Haraam (meaning “much sin”) to Ansar al Islamia (meaning “helpers of Islam”) the ferocity of the barbarism is terrifying. It is not, however, either random or purposeless.

There can be no excuses for the slaughter in Nairobi. No political oppression or religious zeal could create sufficient cause to murder innocent civilians and terrorize a nation, even a continent—all to the end of bankrupting the nation by driving out tourism and investments.

This Nairobi attack was timed to coincide with the African Hotel Investment Conference. The aim was more than death and destruction; it was the breaking of struggling African nations that depend on both tourism and foreign investments. The radicals, the terrorists believe incorrectly, that if there is enough societal pain, if the economy goes down, then the people will turn to them to take the reigns of power. This seldom works out as planned, but then there’s little historic memory amongst barbarians. Ultimately these acts are neither about religion nor even winning.

It is important for all of us not to accept the militant and violent Islamists as defining Islam. Remember though the Inquisition was done in the name of the Catholic Church, we understand that they did not represent the Church. The broken cross of the Nazis, though used by people who called themselves Christians, we understand did not represent Christianity. I think I’m safe in saying that my readers would easily see through the Christian trapping of the KKK and into its heart of fear and violence. The “Holy” Crusades were cynical attempts to turn the young and restless away from their poverty and towards something seemingly great and holy. All of these horrors were marketed as being part of true Christianity. They were not. But they tempted young males with a quest that would bring meaning, not so much to their lives, but their deaths.

We should therefore understand that any religion can be corrupted into becoming the organizing principle for violent acts. We’re seeing this mostly as a Muslim problem, but inhumanity is a human problem. Religion, any religion, can be misused to attract and distract young males from lives that seem devoid of meaning with promises of a great and holy quest. But wanton destruction of human beings is the very opposite of holiness. Holy War is a tragic, but all too common, oxymoron.

Jonathan,
As someone who has read the Qur’an, and Hadith, Reliance of The Traveler on Islamic Sharia Law, and Books on Al Qaeda motivation and doctrine, I would have to respectfully disagree with your assertion that these attacks have nothing to do with faith or Islam. Faith in Islam has EVERYTHING to do with theses attacks. Islamists believe that they must pattern their lives after Muhammed. In the Qur’an, Muhammed instructs his followers to “Fight the unbelievers wherever you find them.” The Qur’an teaches followers about an offensive Jihad against unbelievers. There are three options for the unbelievers when confronted with the sword of Islam: They can convert to Islam, They can choose to live as a dhimmi ((2nd class citizen) and pay the Jizya tax, or they are killed. Those are the three options. The Qur’an instructs followers to subjugate unbelievers. Read about the 1,400 year history of Islamic conquests. Read about what happened in Spain and France. Read about the Pact of Omar. Islam is not a religion as much as it is a political system that is all about conquest and subjugation. Al Qaeda are identified as extremists and terrorists, but Islam is extreme. Of course anyone that has read and studied Islam and identifies it for what is is identified as an Islamophobe. Islam has not been hijacked by these radicals. Islam is radical. Read it for yourself.

twostellas

Yes, and until that is faced there will be more and more atrocities all over the world.

musalaman

Oh you have done lots of research on islam and Muhammad (saw) then also mention Muhammad also described in islam the highest eminent lady is mother mary all muslim women should follow her, the quote of quran which u are mentioning its during the war, all these days I used to respect Christianity know I am wondering If I agree with you than even hitler killed millions of people, yes even Christianity is extreme

Craig

Musalman,
Yes, I have done quite a bit of reading about Islam. You mention that the Surah I quoted (9:29) is during the war. Actually, Islam has a history of conquests, not defensive in nature, but offensive. These offensive conquests were conducted in an effort to kill or subjugate the infidels. Kafirs were attacked, not because they threatened the Muslims, but because they were UNBELIEVERS. If you read the Qur’an and Hadith, I recommend Sahih Al-Bukhari or Sahih Al-Muslim, you will find that these wars you refer to are actual conquests and subjugations of the infidels because they were not believers. That makes Islam a political entity. You say that Christianity is extreme. I would have to say there is no moral equivalence between Islam and Christianity. To be sure, there have been misdeeds by some who call themselves Christians. But Islam has a very long bloody history of slaughtering those they disagree with. Look at what is happening all over the Middle east today. Jews and Christians are being killed and churches are being burned. Much of this is ignored in the West. This is all done in the name of Islam, just like the Qur’an and Hadith teach. After all, the Qur’an instructs Muslims not to take Jews and Christians for friends; they are the worst of people.

Read it. It may provide you with further detail of (9:29). You may have interpreted it incorrectly. Also you should check out Dr. Zakir Naiks arguments and debates, they are really interesting and provide people about Islam. The reason why most Muslims are being interpreted as bad people is because of media. As usual media just wants to give the people a juicy story to gain more views.
Many people these days are being mistreated for what others have done, and im not just talking about Islam, but also other groups. It makes me sad that humanity still cant get away form the concept of hating others.

jonathandobrer

In Reply: There is no doctrine that is not pervertible. We can find the passages of human violence and Devine violence in both Old & New Testaments. So, yes, there are Suras and Haddiths that exhort to violence. They are indeed there. But our scriptures are Rorshach tests–and we find what we’re looking for. As Ginsberg and Scalia read the same black marks on paper but get very different messages/understanding, Osama and my old tutor, Si Salah Mamouri, Imam of Nabeul, read very different Qurans.

Craig

Just because EVERY doctrine is susceptible to perversion does not mean that it was perverted. To try to equate the violence in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible to the violent passages in the Trilogy of Islamic texts (Qur’an, Hadith, and Sira) is incomparable. Also, there is no comparison to the level of violence between the Christians and the Islamists throughout history. There have been over 20,000 Islamic terrorist attacks in the world since 9/11/2001. We must be willfully naive to ignore the relationship between Islam and violence. It is in their writings and in their history.

To say that our Scriptures are a Rorshach test is silly. There have been doctrinal differences to be sure, but the main doctrinal themes of Christianity are easily understood for those with a true desire to understand them. Jesus taught us to love our enemies and forgive those that persecute us. Muhammed instructs to cut off the heads and finger tips of the kafirs. Roughly 67% of the Sira (Biography of Muhammed’s life is devoted to offensive Jihad against the unbelievers.

musalaman

I think you haven’t understand a word of quran and hadith, one cannot understand any thing if you have negativity and hatred filled up, just read the history of women’s before and after Muhammad (saw), then you ultimately get answer, he also told no muslim is a Muslim if he doesn’t belive in jesus christ , across the globe 1.2 billion muslim believe in jesus christ coz of Muhammed, we also believe he was born miraculous for which many modern day Christian doesn’t belive. Life of Muhammad is an inspiration for all, brother craig,

Craig

Musalaman,
I have a good understanding of what islam teaches. I am not filled up with hatred. My heart breaks for many people (Muslims too) that are affected by the evils of Islam. Muslim women are frequently abused physically and sexually under the Sharia. Muslims kill other Muslims for not being Muslim enough. Islam is a cancer. Many Muslims are victims. I understand the Qur’an teaches that Jesus was born of a virgin, and is even the Messiah. The problem is that Islam does not teach the truth about the reason Jesus died and was crucified. He died for all of our sins. He is God’s son, whether the Qur’an is willing to recognize that or not. Muslims are free to worship how they want, even in America. But they have no right to try to silence my voice or subjugate others under Sharia Law.

Mike

The problem is in the interpretation of the written words. Those who seek violence will find it no matter what we do. So the difficult problem is how to break this cycle of violence. As long as children are taught to hate nothing will change.

Jack

Muhammed may have wanted a peaceful religion, but muslims are allowed to write new paragraphs of the koran that supersede those written before. Therefore, new and more hate-filled books are the ones used to incite jihads.

The militants have won, again. The world is now addressing more security for malls and other public places, thereby removing more and more freedoms from the rest of us. The solution to the problem can only be accomplished by the muslim world taking action and destroying those groups of anti-everything and that solution will never come to pass. The insidious inroads into society by the extremists is steadily progressing the muslim plan to make a world of one religion and I foresee a lot of death in the future.